RESUMO
Young adult offspring of hypertensive parents (pHTNâ) are a good model for assessing abnormalities of anthropometric, cardiometabolic, and autonomic variables prior to clinical hypertension. The objectives of this study were to determine whether these variables and autonomic responses to oral carbohydrates were altered in offspring of pHTNâ. Two hundred consecutive patients, including 100 pHTNâ, were evaluated, with 29 patients, including 14 pHTNâ, given a 70-gram carbohydrate load. The pHTNâ group had higher blood pressure, pulse pressure, abdominal circumference (AC), weight, body mass index, and basal metabolic rate than offspring of normotensive parents (pHTN∅). At baseline, the low-frequency (LF, sympathetic) to high-frequency (HF, parasympathetic) ratio, assessed by spectral analysis of heart rate variability, was similar in both groups. After the carbohydrate load, the LF/HF ratio was greater in offspring of pHTNâ. pHTNâ individuals have abnormalities of anthropometric and hemodynamic variables at baseline and autonomic responses to oral carbohydrates before developing hypertension.